Digitization is the most important megatrend affecting supply chain strategy today. Visibility to both demand and supply has, in the blink of an eye, evolved from a notoriously slow, clunky process of transmitting batch data to a nearly incomprehensible supernova of constant information. Cisco tracks global internet traffic and, as the table below shows, this flow has grown 300-fold since the turn of the century. Connectivity is everywhere, but it’s not always good.

In supply chain terms, this includes order data, engineering information, prices and contractual terms. Layer on top of this machine-to-machine connectivity, remotely guided vehicles and even more ominously, digitally linked smart products, and we’re suddenly accountable for a lot more than just secrets. Connectivity may be the ultimate double-edged sword.

Rising Risk

In our annual Future of Supply Chain survey this past fall, not only did “data security/IT incidents” rank highest overall among 13 separate risks considered with 30% of 1,408 respondents saying they were “very concerned”, it has also risen fastest.